Human Rights
Thousands Of Iranians Sign Petition Chiding Authorities For Treatment Of Teachers
Thousands of Iranians, including active and retired teachers and cultural figures, have added their signatures to an online petition critical of the government and calling for the release of scores of educators who have been imprisoned in recent months for their support of protesters demanding more freedoms.
The campaign, initiated by cultural figures across the country, is characterized as a "civil action" and a "small yet vital step" toward liberating the more than 230 teachers and their union activists to have been detained by security agents .
It said that as of July 17, more than 13,000 signatures had been received and that several teachers union associations, including those from Tehran, Markazi, North Khorasan, Kurdistan, and Islamshahr, have voiced their support for the campaign as well.
According to the campaign's official statement, the government's engagement with educators has been marked by "violence and oppressive measures."
It criticizes prison sentences handed to protesting teachers in various provinces, and chides the government for initiating legal proceedings that have resulted in dismissals, forced retirements, and expulsions for hundreds more teachers nationwide.
Unrest -- including several protests by teachers -- has rattled Iran since last summer in response to declining living standards, wage arrears, and a lack of welfare support. Labor law in Iran does not recognize the right of workers to form independent unions.
The death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini while in police custody in September for allegedly wearing a head scarf improperly breathed new life into the unrest, which officials across the country have tried to quell with harsh -- and sometimes deadly -- measures. Universities and other educational and cultural centers have been the sites for many of the protests.
The campaign initially started with 1,200 teachers penning a letter to the head of the judiciary calling for the immediate release of imprisoned teachers and trade union activists and demanded an end to the security confrontations with teachers.
When the judiciary and the presidential office reportedly declined to acknowledge the letter, the campaign was widened by taking it public.
According to activists, more than 11 teacher trade union rights leaders, including notable figures such as Esmail Abdi, Rasol Badaghi, Farzaneh Nazaranpour, and Jafar Ebrahimi, are currently serving prison sentences or under temporary arrest.
The activist HRANA news agency says that more than 500 people have been killed during the unrest, including 71 minors, as security forces try to stifle widespread dissent.
Thousands have been arrested in the clampdown, with the judiciary handing down harsh sentences -- including the death penalty -- to protesters.
Written by Ardeshir Tayebi based on an original story in Persian by RFE/RL's Radio Farda
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Iranian-American Journalist Reza Valizadeh Sentenced To 10 Years In Prison In Iran
An Iranian court has sentenced Reza Valizadeh, a dual U.S.-Iranian citizen and former journalist for RFE/RL's Radio Farda, to 10 years in prison on charges of "collaborating with a hostile government."
According to court documents sent to the journalist’s lawyer on December 10 and subsequently reviewed by RFE/RL, Valizadeh was sentenced by Judge Iman Afshari of Tehran’s Revolutionary Court, Branch 26.
In addition to the prison term, Valizadeh was banned for two years following the completion of his sentence from living in Tehran and adjacent provinces, from leaving the country, and from joining political or social organizations.
Valizadeh resigned from Radio Farda in November 2022 after a decade of work. He returned to Iran in early 2024 to visit his family but was arrested on September 22.
His two court sessions, held on November 20 and December 7, reportedly lacked a prosecution representative, with the judge assuming that role.
Sources close to the journalist claim he fell into a "security trap" despite receiving unofficial assurances from Iranian security officials that he would not face legal troubles upon returning to Iran.
The U.S. State Department earlier condemned Valizadeh’s detention, calling it "unjust" and inconsistent with international legal standards. Press freedom organizations, including Reporters Without Borders and the Committee to Protect Journalists, urged Iranian authorities to release Valizadeh immediately.
RFE/RL President and CEO Stephen Capus also called for Valizadeh to be released, saying the charges against him, his conviction, and sentence were unjust.
"Time and again, the Iranian regime has attempted to spread its malign influence around the world, trampling on human rights at every opportunity," Capus said in a staetment. "Clearly, this regime feels threatened by the forces of freedom, including independent journalism."
Valizadeh remains in Tehran’s Evin prison under severe restrictions, with limited access to legal representation and family.
Iran is routinely accused of arresting dual nationals and Western citizens on false charges to use them to pressure Western countries. In September 2023, Iran released five Americans jailed in Iran in a prisoner swap.
Valizadeh is the first U.S. citizen known to have been arrested since that deal.
Iran is also among the most repressive countries in terms of freedom of the press. Reporters Without Borders ranked Iran 176th out of 180 countries in its 2024 World Press Freedom Index. The Paris-based media watchdog says Iran is now also one of the world’s biggest jailers of journalists.
Husband Of Iranian Rights Lawyer Arrested In Tehran
The husband of prominent Iranian human rights lawyer Nasrin Sotoudeh has been detained by security forces, according to their daughter.
Mehraveh Khandan said on Instagram that her father, Reza Khandan, was arrested on December 13 at her home in Tehran. The circumstances of Khandan's arrest and the charges against him were not known.
Mohammad Moghimi, a lawyer, said on X that the reason for the arrest was likely related to a six-year prison sentence in a case in which he represented Reza Khandan and activist Farhad Meysami.
The sentence against Reza Khandan was handed down in February 2019 by Tehran's Revolutionary Court. Meysami also faced a similar sentence in the case.
Reza Khandan had been charged with "assembly and collusion against national security," "propaganda against the state," and "spreading and promoting unveiling in society."
The sentence against Reza Khandan also banned him from membership in political parties and groups, leaving the country, and using the Internet and other media and press activities.
Sotoudeh, a vocal advocate for numerous activists, has been arrested several times since 2010. Her detention has included periods of solitary confinement, highlighting the challenges faced by human rights defenders in Iran.
Sotoudeh was arrested last year during the funeral of 17-year-old Armita Garavand, who died of injuries suffered in an alleged confrontation with Iran's morality police in the Tehran subway over a violation of Iran’s compulsory head scarf law.
Reza Khandan said at the time of his wife's arrest in October 2023 that she started a hunger and medication strike after she was severely beaten when she was taken into custody. Sotoudeh was released about two weeks later.
- By Kian Sharifi and
- Babak Ghafooriazar
Iran's New Hijab Law Seen As 'Vengeful Act' Against Women
Lengthy prison terms, hefty fines, and travel bans.
Those are among the punishments facing women who violate Iran's new hijab law.
Approved on November 30, the Hijab And Chastity law has triggered uproar in the Islamic republic, where even senior clerics have criticized it.
The 74-article law also calls on the public to report alleged violators to the police and penalizes businesses and taxi drivers who refuse to do so.
"You cannot even call this a law," Nasrin Sotoudeh, a prominent activist and human rights lawyer based in Iran, told RFE/RL's Radio Farda.
Laws are meant to protect citizens, she said, but the new legislation "robs women of their security on the streets."
A growing number of Iranian women have refused to wear the mandatory head scarf -- a key pillar of Iran's Islamic system.
The hijab was central to the unprecedented protests that erupted across Iran in 2022. The demonstrations were triggered by the death in custody of Mahsa Amini, a young woman who was arrested for allegedly violating the hijab law.
During the protests, women and girls removed and burned their head scarves.
The authorities waged a brutal crackdown on protesters, killing hundreds and arresting thousands.
Sotoudeh said many Iranians want those responsible for the deaths to be "punished." Instead, she said, "lawmakers passed a bill in a vengeful act against women and men."
She warned that critics "will take steps" if the law is not repealed, suggesting that protests may be planned.
Sotoudeh has been in and out of prison for years for her activism and taking up sensitive legal cases, including women detained for peacefully protesting the mandatory hijab.
'Unimplementable' Law
In recent years, the authorities have doubled down on their enforcement of the hijab.
They have reintroduced patrols by the so-called morality police that were suspended in the wake of the 2022 protests.
Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) has also established a new unit in Tehran to enforce the hijab. Its members are called "ambassadors of kindness."
In November, the Tehran Headquarters for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice announced the creation of a "clinic" to offer "scientific and psychological treatment" to women who refuse to follow the Islamic dress code.
In response, Iranian psychologists raised the alarm about the consequences of "labeling healthy people as sick."
Sotoudeh and Sedigheh Vasmaghi, a rights activist and Islamic scholar, slammed the new hijab law as "shameful" and "medieval" in a joint statement issued on December 1.
The new legislation has proved so controversial that President Masud Pezeshkian said on live television on December 2 that "it cannot be easily implemented." He also questioned the new penalties for convicted hijab violators.
Even several senior clerics have warned against enforcing the new law.
"Not only are large parts of this law unimplementable...but it defeats its purpose and will lead to the youth hating religious teachings," Ayatollah Mostafa Mohaqeq Damad wrote in an open letter to top clerics on December 2.
In a joint statement on December 4, three prominent guilds representing the entertainment industry said any law that "turns your homeland into a big prison is meaningless" and urged the authorities to repeal it.
- By Fereshteh Ghazi and
- Kian Sharifi
How Iran Is Using Mental Illness As A Tool Of Repression
Autocratic states have long used allegations of mental illness to discredit and imprison their critics.
In Iran, the authorities are increasingly branding women who violate the country's hijab law -- a key pillar of the Islamic system -- as psychologically unstable.
The move has coincided with unprecedented protests against Iran's clerical establishment and growing calls for greater social and political freedoms.
Experts say the Iranian authorities are employing punitive psychiatry -- the misuse of psychiatric diagnoses, treatments, and institutions to punish, control, or repress individuals -- to go after government critics.
"In countries like ours, being mentally ill is taboo, so the authorities use mental health allegations to raise public sympathy to justify their human rights violations," Medis Tavakoli, an Iranian psychotherapist and rights activists based in Europe, told RFE/RL's Radio Farda.
'Labeling Healthy People As Sick'
In July 2023, for the first time, judges diagnosed three prominent actresses sentenced for not wearing the hijab as "mentally ill."
The unprecedented move was condemned by top Iranian psychologists who said the judiciary was abusing its authority.
Now, the authorities have announced the creation of a rehabilitation center in Tehran for women who do not wear the mandatory head scarf.
The Tehran Headquarters for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice said on November 12 that the center will offer "scientific and psychological treatment" to women who refuse to follow the Islamic dress code. No other details were provided.
In response, Iranian psychologists have raised the alarm about the consequences of "labeling healthy people as sick."
Earlier this month, a young woman who took off her clothes outside a university in Tehran in apparent protest against harassment was committed to psychiatric care -- a move deemed "illegal" by rights activists.
The political abuse of psychiatry is well-documented, and was prominently used in the Soviet Union against dissidents. In recent years, the authorities in countries like China, North Korea, and Russia have labeled their domestic critics as mentally ill.
Iran has been increasingly using mental health allegations and other "hateful statements" against women who oppose the hijab since unprecedented protests in 2022, according to Amnesty International.
Months of antiestablishment protests erupted across Iran in September 2022 after the death in custody of a young woman who was arrested for violating the hijab law.
Women were at the forefront of the protests, which snowballed into one of the most sustained demonstrations against Iran's theocracy, with some protesters calling for an end to clerical rule.
"Governments alone cannot get rid of all of their critics," Tavakoli said. "One method is to lob accusations and labels against critics. So, when they get rid of their critics, society thinks that bad actors were weeded out."
'Alternative' Punishment
The authorities' decision to establish a rehabilitation center for violators of the hijab law has caused uproar in Iran.
Mojgan Ilanlou, a documentary filmmaker and women's rights activist based in Tehran, said she felt "pity" for those who come up with "such brilliant ideas."
"They themselves know better than anyone how much these things make people laugh," she told Radio Farda.
In recent years, the authorities have taken several measures to enforce the hijab on women in a society that is increasingly shunning head scarves.
The Hijab and Chastity law went into force last month, mandating fines and sentences of up to 10 years in prison for those who are deemed to be dressed "inappropriately" in public.
Iranian authorities have said the "treatment" center in Tehran can serve as an "alternative" punishment.
But Ilanlou said the opening of the clinic showed that the authorities "are losing the fight" to enforce the hijab.
Iran-based political activist Pouran Nazemi said that "women have been putting up a fight."
"I doubt [the authorities] can continue resisting what society wants," she told Radio Farda.
Roya Karimi Majd of RFE/RL's Radio Farda contributed to this report
- By RFE/RL
PEN Urges UN Rights Council To Aid Imprisoned Iranian Nobel Laureate
The U.S.-based PEN America free-speech watchdog has asked the UN Human Rights Council to intervene in the case of imprisoned Iranian Nobel Peace Prize laureate Narges Mohammadi, who it said is in "urgent need of medical care." In an open letter, PEN urged the UN “to call on the Iranian authorities to grant Mohammadi a medical furlough on humanitarian grounds so that she is able to receive comprehensive and essential care for a range of serious medical conditions." Mohammadi, 52, has been in and out of prison for the past 20 years. She is currently serving a 12-year sentence in Tehran's Evin prison for "spreading propaganda," allegations that she, her family, and supporters reject.
Journalist Commits Suicide In Protest Over Arrests In Iran
Kianoosh Sanjari, a journalist and political activist, has committed suicide to protest numerous arrests and interrogations of himself and other political activists. A relative of Sanjari confirmed the news in an interview with RFE/RL on November 13. Friends of Sanjari also confirmed his death in posts on X. Since returning to Tehran in 2015 to care for his elderly mother, Sanjari was repeatedly summoned and arrested by the security and intelligence agencies of the Islamic republic. Hours before committing suicide, Sanjari announced his decision to end his life on X. After an ultimatum demanding the Iranian government release four activists and journalists by a specified time was not met, Sanjari tweeted again: "My life will end after this tweet but let's not forget that we die for the love of life, not death. I wish that one day Iranians will wake up and overcome slavery." To read the original story by RFE/RL's Radio Farda, click here.
Targeted Activist Calls Failure Of Iranian Assassination Plot 'Pleasing'
Iranian-American human rights activist Masih Alinejad says she derives joy from the failure of alleged plots by the Islamic republic to kidnap and assassinate her.
The U.S. Justice Department on November 8 unsealed criminal charges that include details of a plot allegedly backed by Iran to kill Alinejad and President-elect Donald Trump before the November 5 election. Iran has rejected the allegation.
"When the Islamic republic is defeated, disgraced, and embarrassed by the Federal Bureau of Investigation [FBI], it has no choice but to deny," Alinejad, 48, said in comments to RFE/RL's Radio Farda.
Alinejad, who has criticized Iran's laws requiring women to wear a hijab, or head scarf, was the target of a kidnapping plot in 2021. In 2022 a man was also arrested with a rifle outside her home.
“The Islamic republic has been disgraced three times…. The humiliation of [Iranian authorities] is truly pleasing,” she said.
The FBI informed Alinejad of the suspected Iranian plot to kill her shortly before the court documents were unsealed, she said, recalling that she was "shocked" to learn about the details.
Two men arrested by the FBI were planning to target Alinejad at Fairfield University in Connecticut, where she was scheduled to appear.
The Justice Department alleges the two men spent months surveilling Alinejad and earlier this year traveled to the university campus and took photos of the premises.
"It is shocking how brazenly the Islamic republic can savagely plan to assassinate someone in another country," Alinejad said.
Iran has long been accused of targeting dissidents abroad, either to kidnap them or kill them.
Rights groups say exiled opposition activist Ruhollah Zam was abducted in 2019 before being executed in Iran a year later.
In 2020, Tehran said it had arrested Iranian-German citizen Jamshid Sharmahd and later sentenced him to death. Sharmahd's family insists he was kidnapped while through the United Arab Emirates. Iranian authorities claim Sharmahd died in prison last month before being executed.
Alinejad, who is visiting Germany and recently met with President Frank-Walter Steinmeier, said her message to Germany, the United States, and all Western countries is to "protect your borders and democracy instead of protecting me so that the Islamic republic's terrorists can't enter and plot assassinations on Western soil."
She said symbolic gestures by the West in support of Iranian protesters and dissidents "is not enough" to dissuade Iranian authorities from targeting critics abroad. Instead, she argued, severing diplomatic ties and "extensive support" for protesters inside Iran would be more effective.
Written based on an interview by Nasrin Afshar of RFE/RL's Radio Farda
Iranian Scholar Calls Psych Ward Admission Of Woman Who Disrobed In Protest 'Illegal'
Iranian religious scholar and civil activist Sedigheh Vasmaghi said there is no legal basis for admitting a young woman into psychiatric care because she took her clothes off in apparent protest against harassment outside her Tehran university.
"Even if someone suffers from mental health disorders, diagnosing that is not up to judicial authorities or the police, not to mention that admitting someone into a psychiatric facility should not be a punishment," Vasmaghi told RFE/RL's Radio Farda on November 5.
"Punishments need to be legal…. Whoever [admitted her] has committed an illegal act," said Vasmaghi, who lives in Iran.
Videos emerged on social media on November 2 showing a young woman stripped to her underwear and walking around outside a university in Tehran.
The circumstances that led to her taking off her clothes remain unclear, but witnesses say she was harassed by the university's security officers over what she had been wearing. One video showed officers violently forcing the unidentified woman into a car.
Reports in Iranian media later alleged she was suffering from mental illness and that she was taken to a psychiatric hospital.
Rights groups have condemned her treatment and demanded her immediate release.
Amnesty International on November 3 said, "Pending her release, authorities must protect her from torture & other ill-treatment & ensure access to family & lawyer."
The Oslo-based Iran Human Rights on November 4 decried what it described as the Islamic republic's use of "psychiatric hospitals as tools of repression to delegitimize acts of protest and silence dissenting voices."
Echoing the same sentiment, Vasmaghi said Iranian authorities had a track record of sending protesters to psychiatric wards to "belittle and punish" them.
"Women have made their decision and they will not retreat" from demanding the freedom to choose how to dress, the activist said.
"The authorities must accept that and stop doing things that increase tensions in society," she added.
Written by Kian Sharifi based on an interview by Hooman Askary of RFE/RL's Radio Farda
Stripping In Protest? Amnesty Calls for Immediate Release Of Iranian Woman (Video)
Amnesty International has called for the immediate release of a young woman who was arrested after stripping to her underwear outside her Tehran university on November 2. In a statement, Amnesty said "allegations of beatings and sexual violence against her during arrest need independent and impartial investigations." Footage of the incident has been widely shared on social media.
Jewish Man Executed In Iran For Murder He Said Was In Self-Defense
Iran, at a time of rising tensions with Israel, has executed a Jewish man who was convicted of murder, a charge his family rejected saying he acted in self- defense after being attacked.
The Mizan news agency, which is affiliated with Iran's judiciary, quoted Hamidreza Karimi, the prosecutor of the western Iranian city of Kermanshah, as saying Arvin Ghahremani, 23, was executed on November 4.
Ghahremani, 18 at the time, was found guilty of stabbing another man to death in 2022 outside a gym in Kermanshah. The victim had owed money to Ghahremani and, according to his family, an altercation broke out over the dispute.
The victim was armed and Ghahremani acted in self-defense, they said, saying he even tried to help keep the victim alive after the altercation.
After being sentenced to death, Ghahrmani's lawyers failed to get the family of the Muslim victim, whose identity was not revealed, to pardon him and spare his life.
Islamic legislation provides for qisas, or equivalent punishment, in murder cases.
However, rights groups have long said that the law discriminates against non-Muslims, who often receive harsher punishments than Muslims convicted of similar offenses.
Ghahremani's lawyers had requested a retrial three different times, but each motion was rejected by Iranian courts.
The Norway-based Iran Human Rights group condemned the execution of Ghahremani, who the group said was 20 years old, not 23.
The group also disputed Ghahremani's guilt, saying he had been attacked with a knife by the victim. It also said that the victim's family initially agreed to spare Ghahremani but changed their mind after finding out he was Jewish.
"Arvin was a Jew, and the institutionalized anti-Semitism in the Islamic republic undoubtedly played a crucial role in the implementation of his sentence," IHR Director Mahmood Amiri-Moghadam said in a statement, adding that the case had "significant flaws."
Jews are a small minority estimated at some 20,000 in Iran, a mainly Shi'ite Muslim nation of nearly 92 million people. Many Jews fled Iran in the aftermath of Iran's Islamic Revolution in 1979 as the new regime adopted a sharp anti-Israel stance, including not recognizing Israel's right to exist.
Israel and Iran's proxies in Lebanon and the Gaza Strip have been fighting a war over the past year since one of the groups, Hamas, invaded Israel and killed some 1,200 people in an unprovoked attack.
The group, which has been designated a terrorist organization by the United States and the European Union, also took around 240 hostages back to the Gaza Strip.
U.S. Says It's Gathering Information On Imprisoned Ex-RFE/RL Journalist In Iran
The United States says it is gathering information about the case of former Radio Farda journalist Reza Valizadeh, a dual citizen, who has been in prison in Iran for the past weeks.
Valizadeh was arrested in late September in Tehran, a source close to the family told RFE/RL’s Radio Farda last month. Valizadeh left his job as a staff member at Radio Farda in November 2022.
In his last post on X on August 13, Valizadeh said he had traveled to Tehran on March 16. He also said he had “unfinished negotiations” with the intelligence branch of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC). It is not clear under what circumstances he wrote this post.
“We are working with our Swiss partners who serve as the protecting power for the United States in Iran to gather more information about this case,” the State Department told AP. “Iran routinely imprisons U.S. citizens and other countries’ citizens unjustly for political purposes. This practice is cruel and contrary to international law.”
RFE/RL said in a statement that it was aware of Valizadeh’s detention in Iran. “We have had no official confirmation of the charges against him, “the statement said, adding: “We are profoundly concerned about the continued arrest, harassment and threats against media professionals by the Iranian regime.”
Iranian officials have not publicly commented on Valizadeh’s arrest.
Iran is routinely accused of arresting dual nationals and Western citizens on false charges to use them to pressure Western countries. In September 2023, Iran released five Americans jailed in Iran in a prisoner swap.
Valizadeh is the first U.S. citizen known to have been arrested since that deal.
Iran is also among the most repressive countries in terms of freedom of press. Reporters Without Borders ranked Iran 176 out of 180 countries in its 2024 World Press Freedom index. The Paris-based media watchdog says Iran is now also one of the world’s biggest jailers of journalists.
Germany To Close 3 Iranian Consulates Over Execution Of Dual Citizen
Germany will shut all three Iranian consulates in Germany in reaction to the execution of dual German-Iranian citizen Jamshid Sharmahd, Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said on October 31.
"We have repeatedly made it clear that the execution of a German citizen will have serious consequences," Baerbock said in New York. "I have therefore decided to close the three Iranian consulates-general in Frankfurt am Main, Munich, and Hamburg."
Baerbock added that relations with Iran have reached “more than a low point” following the execution of Sharmahd, which was announced by Tehran on October 28.
Germany had already recalled its ambassador for consultations and summoned the Iranian charge d'affaires to voice Berlin's protest.
Baerbock said the execution of Sharmahd shows the Iranian "regime of injustice" continues to act brutally.
The 32 employees at the three consulates must leave the country unless they have German citizenship. The embassy in Berlin is not affected by the order.
Iran summoned Germany's charge d'affaires in Tehran to protest Germany's "unjust" decision, state media reported on October 31.
Iranian state media said Sharmahd was put to death after he was convicted of carrying out terrorist attacks.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi said that having a German passport does not give anyone immunity.
German Chancellor Olaf Schultz joined Baerbock in strongly condemning the execution of Sharmahd, calling it a "scandal" for the Iranian government.
Deputy Special Envoy Abram Paley of the U.S. Office of the Special Envoy for Iran welcomed Germany’s decision to close the three Iranian consulates.
“We stand united with the international community in holding the regime accountable,” he said on X, calling the execution of Sharmahd “unjust.”
EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell also strongly condemned the execution of Sharmahd and said the European Union is considering taking measures in response.
Sharmahd, 69, was accused by Iran of heading a pro-monarchist group that Tehran believes was behind a deadly 2008 bombing and of planning other attacks in the country.
Fourteen Iranians were killed and 210 others wounded in the attack at the Sayyid al-Shuhada Husseiniya mosque in Shiraz during a ceremony to mourn the death of Imam Hussein, the third imam of Shi'a Muslims.
Iran's Intelligence Ministry accused Sharmahd of planning the bombing, a charge his family dismissed as "ridiculous."
With reporting by dpa and Reuters
Germany Recalls Iran Envoy After Execution Of German-Iranian
Germany has recalled its ambassador to Tehran following the execution of Jamshid Sharmahd after his conviction on disputed terrorism charges and summoned Iran's envoy to Berlin to answer questions about the death of the 69-year-old Iranian-German citizen.
The Mizan news agency, which is affiliated with Iran's judiciary, reported that the death sentence against Sharmahd was carried out on October 28 "after final confirmation of the court's decision by the Supreme Court.”
In a trial last year that was dismissed as a sham by Germany, the United States, and rights groups, Sharmahd was accused by Iran of heading a pro-monarchist group that Tehran claims was behind a 2008 bombing of a mosque in Shiraz in which 14 people were killed and of planning other attacks in the country.
The dual citizen's family has dismissed the accusations as "ridiculous."
Germany's Foreign Ministry has denounced Sharmahd's "murder" and said German Ambassador Markus Potzel has been recalled. Before being recalled, Potzel also met with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi to protest the killing in "the strongest terms," the ministry said.
German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock has said Sharmahd's killing showed that an "inhumane regime rules in Tehran" and vowed that it "would have serious consequences."
Araqchi on October 29 lashed out on X at Baerbock, saying, "A German passport does not provide impunity to anyone, let alone a terrorist criminal," adding, "Enough with the gaslighting, Analena Baerbock."
Separately, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz's office said on October 29 that Iranian Ambassador to Berlin Mahmud Farazandeh had been summoned by the German government to answer questions about Sharmahd's death.
The U.S. State Department referred to Iran's treatment of Sharmahd, who also had U.S. residency, as “reprehensible” and described his judicial proceedings as a “sham trial.”
"We have long made clear that we oppose the way Iran carries out executions, often in a way that fundamentally violates human rights,” State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said on October 28.
The director of the Norway-based NGO Iran Human Rights, Mahmood Amiry-Moghaddam, called the execution "a case of extrajudicial killing of a hostage aimed at covering up the recent failures of the hostage-takers of the Islamic republic."
Germany Condemns Iran's 'Inhumane Regime' After Execution Of Iranian-German National
Germany’s foreign minister on October 28 condemned Iran's “inhumane regime” after the execution of Iranian-German national Jamshid Sharmahd following his conviction on disputed terrorism charges.
The Iranian judiciary's Mizan news agency, which is affiliated with Iran's judiciary, reported that the death sentence against Sharmahd was carried out on October 28 "after final confirmation of the court's decision by the Supreme Court.”
German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock strongly condemned the Iranian regime for executing the 69-year-old Sharmahd, saying in a statement that it “shows once again what kind of inhumane regime rules in Tehran: a regime that uses death against its youth, its own population, and foreign nationals."
Baerbock added that Berlin had repeatedly made clear "that the execution of a German national would have serious consequences."
Sharmahd, who also had U.S. residency, was accused by Iran of heading a pro-monarchist group that Tehran believes was behind a deadly 2008 bombing and of planning other attacks in the country.
Fourteen Iranians were killed and 210 others wounded in the attack at the Sayyid al-Shuhada Husseiniya mosque in Shiraz during a ceremony to mourn the death of Imam Hussein, the third imam of Shi'a Muslims.
Iran's Intelligence Ministry accused Sharmahd of planning the bombing, a charge his family dismissed as "ridiculous."
The U.S. State Department referred to Iran's treatment of Sharmahd as “reprehensible” and described his judicial proceedings as a “sham trial.”
"We have long made clear that we oppose the way Iran carries out executions, often in a way that fundamentally violates human rights,” State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said on October 28.
Sharmahd was detained under unclear circumstances and accused by the Iranian Intelligence Ministry of being a member of the Iranian opposition group Kingdom Assembly of Iran, or Tondar.
Based in Los Angeles, Tondar says it aims to overthrow the Islamic republic and reestablish a monarchy similar to that of Cyrus the Great. It runs pro-Iranian opposition radio and television stations abroad, as well as social media channels.
The director of the Norway-based NGO Iran Human Rights, Mahmood Amiry-Moghaddam, called the execution "a case of extrajudicial killing of a hostage aimed at covering up the recent failures of the hostage-takers of the Islamic republic."
"Jamshid Sharmahd was kidnapped in the United Arab Emirates and unlawfully transferred to Iran, where he was sentenced to death without a fair trial," Amiry-Moghaddam said in a statement.
The European Center for Constitutional and Human Rights said: "The unlawful abduction of Sharmahd, his subsequent torture in custody, the unfair show trial, and today's execution are exemplary of the countless crimes of the Iranian regime."
His family long maintained his innocence and say he was seized by Iranian authorities while traveling through the U.A.E.
Sharmahd's daughter, Gazelle Sharmahd, last year said her father was barely able to walk and talk due to health conditions that prison authorities failed to properly treat. She said then that her father suffered from Parkinson's disease.
With reporting by AFP and AP
Imprisoned Iranian Nobel Laureate Moved To Hospital, Husband Says
Narges Mohammadi, the imprisoned Iranian Nobel Peace Prize winner and rights activist, has been moved to a Tehran hospital after suffering health issues for more than two months, her husband said on October 27. “After nearly nine weeks of medical denial, Narges Mohammadi has finally been hospitalized thanks to the support of civil and human rights activists, the Free Narges Coalition, and pressure from the global community and media,” Taghi Rahmani wrote on X. Rahmani, who is living in Paris, added that the delay, “along with years of imprisonment and solitary confinement, have caused serious harm to Narges’s health.” Mohammadi, 52, has been in and out of prison for the past 20 years. She is currently serving a 12-year sentence in Tehran's Evin prison for "spreading propaganda."
The Azadi Briefing: Calls For Probe Into Reported Killing Of Afghan Migrants On Iran Border
Welcome to The Azadi Briefing, an RFE/RL newsletter that unpacks the key issues in Afghanistan. To subscribe, click here.
I'm Abubakar Siddique, a senior correspondent at RFE/RL's Radio Azadi. Here's what I've been tracking and what I'm keeping an eye on in the days ahead.
The Key Issue
The United Nations and international rights groups have called for an investigation into reports that Iranian border guards fired on and killed Afghan migrants seeking to cross into Iran from Pakistan.
Local reports and rights groups say the incident occurred on October 13 in the Saravan district of Iran’s southeastern province of Sistan-Baluchistan, an impoverished and volatile region.
The Taliban government in Afghanistan says it has launched an investigation. Iranian officials have denied that the incident took place.
Haalvsh, a Baluch rights group, said gunshots and rocket-propelled grenades fired by Iranian forces killed dozens of Afghans. RFE/RL was unable to independently verify the group's claim.
Videos posted on social media appeared to show images of dozens of corpses wrapped in white cloth strewn on the road. RFE/RL was unable to independently verify the veracity of the video.
Taj Mohammad, a resident of the northern province of Balkh, said his cousin was killed in the incident. "We want international organizations and the government in Afghanistan to probe this incident," he told RFE/RL's Radio Azadi.
Jamaluddin, another resident of Balkh, said his son was killed in the incident. "The [Taliban] government does not ask and does nothing."
Why It's Important: Millions of Afghan migrants and refugees have fled to Iran -- either through Afghanistan or Pakistan -- since the collapse of the Western-backed Afghan government and the Taliban's seizure of power in 2021.
Many Afghans in Iran have complained of increasing violence and harassment at the hands of Iranian authorities, who have deported over 1 million Afghans in the past year.
Richard Bennett, the UN special human rights rapporteur in Afghanistan, said on X that he was "seriously concerned" about the reports and urged Iran to "investigate transparently."
"Clarity is urgently needed. These reports don't stand in isolation. More dignity and safety is needed for Afghans worldwide," he said on October 16.
What's Next: If the incident is confirmed, Iran is likely to face international pressure over its treatment of the estimated 4 million Afghans living in the Islamic republic.
The incident could also strain ties between the Taliban and Iran. The sides have engaged in deadly border clashes in recent years.
What To Keep An Eye On
The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) has warned of rapidly rising malnutrition among Afghan children.
The world's largest humanitarian network said on October 17 that clinics in the country were recording "alarming" cases of acute child malnutrition.
The cases are much more frequent among communities suffering from falling incomes, climate-induced natural disasters, and the consequences of decades of fighting, it said.
"The scale of malnutrition in our country is staggering," said Mohammad Nabi Burhan, secretary-general of the Afghan Red Crescent Society. "Severe acute malnutrition can be fatal if left untreated."
In May, Save the Children warned that three out of 10 -- or some 6.5. million Afghan children --will suffer from "crisis or emergency levels of hunger" this year.
According to the UN children agency, UNICEF, some 815,000 children from six months to 5 years old were admitted for "severe wasting," meaning their body parts had become weaker because of malnutrition.
Why It's Important: Afghanistan is the world's largest humanitarian crisis.
As international funding recedes, an increasing number of Afghan children are likely to die of malnutrition and diseases.
That's all from me for now.
Don't forget to send me any questions, comments, or tips that you have. You can always reach us at azadi.english@rferl.org
Until next time,
Abubakar Siddique
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- By RFE/RL
HRW Condemns New 'Repressive' Iranian Law On Dress Codes
Human Rights Watch has condemned Iran’s controversial new law that increases prison terms and fines for women and girls who breach the country's strict dress code in the wake of the mass Women, Life, Freedom protests that followed the death of a young woman while in police custody for an alleged head-scarf violation.
The Hijab and Chastity law mandates sentences of up to 10 years in prison for those who are deemed to be dressed “inappropriately” in public.
The law, which was approved by parliament in September 2023, came into force after its approval by the Guardians Council, a conservative legal body.
“Rather than responding to the Woman, Life, Freedom movement with fundamental reforms, the autocratic government is trying to silence women with even more repressive dress laws,” said Nahid Naghshandi, acting Iran researcher at Human Rights Watch.
The hijab became compulsory for women and girls over the age of 9 in 1981, two years after the Islamic Revolution in Iran.
For women, unacceptable coverings are defined as “revealing or tight clothing, or clothing that shows parts of the body lower than the neck or above the ankles or above the forearms,” according to the new law.
For men, it has been defined as “revealing clothing that shows parts of the body lower than the chest or above the ankles, or shoulders.”
Naghshandi warned that the new law “will only breed fierce resistance and defiance among women in and outside Iran.”
The renewed focus on the mandatory hijab came after Iran was swept by monthslong mass protests triggered by the death of Mahsa Amini while in the custody of the morality police in 2022 for an alleged hijab violation.
Iranian Rapper Tataloo Sentenced To 15 Years In Prison
Amirhossein Maghsoudloo, a popular and controversial Iranian rapper known by his stage name Tataloo, has been sentenced to 15 years in prison on a variety of charges, a judiciary spokesman said on October 13.
Court spokesman Asghar Jahangir told a news conference that the performer had been sentenced to five years on charges of insulting sanctities and 10 years for encouraging corruption and prostitution.
It was not immediately clear if the sentences would run concurrently or consecutively. Jahangir said he would be required to begin his sentence immediately.
Tataloo's works -- considered provocative and Western in style -- are not officially permitted in the country, with authorities saying he lacks pertinent certificates from the Culture Ministry.
Hard-liners in Iran often condemn performers who they accuse of offending the conservative Islamic nation's moral standards and corrupting the youth.
Tataloo, 36, who at times has used his music to criticize Iran's human rights record, had lived in Istanbul since 2018 but was extradited to Iran by Turkish authorities in December 2023. He has been detained in Iran since his extradition.
Tataloo's trial began in March on charges of promoting obscenity, publishing propaganda against the Islamic Republic of Iran, and disseminating obscene content.
In a statement last month, the case investigator cited Tataloo's expression of regret, stating the rapper had written a repentance letter while also expressing his desire to marry, start a family, and pursue music in a more accepted manner.
The information could not be verified, but the admission, if true, likely saved the performer from a much harsher potential sentence.
The rapper, known for blending rap, pop, and R&B and for his distinctive tattoos, has been a polarizing figure in Iran.
He previously released a song in support of Iran's nuclear rights, which coincided with the breakdown of a nuclear deal between Tehran and world powers.
In 2020, Instagram shut down the rapper's account after activists and Instagram users reported him for inappropriate posts asking underage girls to join his "team" for sex.
Tataloo had been briefly jailed in 2013 for distribution of his banned music to foreign-based satellite channels and for two months in 2016 for insulting a judge during a court hearing.
Iranian media reported in December 2023 that Turkish police had arrested Tataloo on charges of insulting members and staff of the consulate in Istanbul over a complaint by the Iranian consulate.
Fars News Agency reported that Tatlou was charged with setting up a gambling house; encouraging, enticing or threatening people to obtain or facilitate pornographic content; inciting and persuading people, especially the younger generation, to commit crimes against chastity and sexual deviance; and encouraging people to commit corruption and prostitution.
With reporting from ISNA and dpa
Iran's Supreme Court Overturns Activist Mohammadi's Death Sentence, Lawyer Says
The Iranian Supreme Court has lifted the death sentence against imprisoned labor activist Sharifeh Mohammadi and referred her case "for reconsideration," her lawyer said on October 12. Mohammadi, 45, was sentenced to death in July, accused of membership in an independent labor union and a banned Kurdish separatist group based in neighboring Iraq's semiautonomous Kurdish region. Her family has said she was not affiliated with any political organization inside or outside the country. The sentence sparked widespread condemnation from civil and political activists. Lawyer Amir Raeesian told the Sharq news outlet that the Supreme Court "overturned the sentence of my client...and referred the case to the same branch for reconsideration." To read the original story by RFE/RL's Radio Farda, click here.
On Amini Death Anniversary, Iran's Jailed Nobel Winner Mohammadi Urges Action Against 'Gender Apartheid'
Imprisoned Iranian Nobel Peace laureate Narges Mohammadi issued a plea on September 16 to coincide with the second anniversary of the death in police custody of Iranian-Kurdish student Mahsa Amini for international institutions and people to act to end the oppression of women in Iran and under other theocratic and authoritarian regimes.
Mohammadi said in the letter from Tehran's notorious Evin prison -- published via her foundation -- that "on the second anniversary of the 'Women, Life, Freedom' movement, we reaffirm our commitment to achieving democracy, freedom, and equality and to defeating theocratic despotism."
A mother of two and former journalist previously jailed for her criticisms, Mohammadi worked alongside fellow Nobel Peace Prize winner Shirin Ebadi at the Defenders Of Human Rights Center for years before a series of detentions and convictions beginning in 2010 and continuing through her current lengthy sentence and reports of further prosecution for activities while in custody.
"I urge the United Nations to end its silence and inaction in the face of the devastating oppression and discrimination by theocratic and authoritarian governments against women by criminalizing gender apartheid," Mohammadi said in the statement.
"The liberation of women from the grip of oppression and discrimination is essential for empowering the force that drives peace and democracy."
In a joint statement issued on September 16 to mark the anniversary, the United States, Canada, Australia, Britain, and New Zealand said: "We stand with women and girls in Iran, and Iranian human rights defenders, across all segments of society in their ongoing daily fight for human rights and fundamental freedoms.
"We call on the new Iranian administration to fulfil its pledge to ease pressure on civil society in Iran and to end the use of force to enforce the hijab requirement."
During a news conference on September 16, Iranian President Masud Pezeshkian claimed he would use his authority to ensure that morality police do not "bother" women.
"Morality police were not supposed to confront [women]. I will follow up so they don't bother" them, he said, although it remains unclear how much authority he would actually have to make changes.
The 22-year-old Amini died on September 16, 2022, in a hospital after eyewitnesses and her family alleged she had been beaten while in police custody.
Amini's death sparked some of the largest-ever street protests against Iran's clerical leadership since the 1979 Islamic Revolution.
The Women, Life, Freedom movement has persisted, despite the jailings of critics like Mohammadi and a harsh clampdown on dissent.
Sources close to Amini's parents told RFE/RL's Radio Farda that Iranian authorities had "surrounded" the family home in the town of Saghez ahead of the anniversary and ordered them to remain at home or face arrest, in addition to other reported measures to guard against public demonstrations of sympathy.
Amini's father, Amjad Amini, on September 15 expressed gratitude for Kurdish, Iranian, and other efforts to mount labor strikes to mark the anniversary.
Iranian authorities, who cracked down on the family and others a year ago, have sought to avoid public acknowledgement of the anniversary.
"In these two difficult and agonizing years, although the wounds have left marks on the bodies of those exhausted and tormented by oppression, discrimination, and tyranny, and despite the challenging road ahead, we all know that nothing is as it was before," Mohammadi said in her statement.
Family members of some of those killed in the state crackdown on the protests have been also arrested in recent weeks, and others, especially in Iran's Kurdistan, have been summoned by authorities.
The Narges Mohammadi Foundation said on September 15 that 34 female prisoners at Evin went on hunger strike to commemorate Amini's death at the hands of the morality police and mark the birth of the related rights movement.
Wary Of Iranian Restrictions, Mahsa Amini's Family Plans To Mark Death Anniversary
The family of Mahsa Amini, a young Iranian-Kurdish woman whose death while in police custody in 2022 sparked the Women, Life, Freedom protest movement, hopes to mark her second death anniversary -- if allowed by Iranian authorities.
In a message sent to RFE/RL's Radio Farda on September 12, Amjad Amini said they were going to mark the occasion at the cemetery where his daughter is buried in response to calls from people wanting to pay tribute.
"We, the family of Mahsa Jina Amini, like all the grieving families across Iran, wish to exercise our right to hold a traditional and religious ceremony in memory of our beloved, marking the anniversary of her passing," he said in an audio message.
Amini said last year they were unable to hold a public gathering because the authorities blocked access to the Aichi cemetery in Saqqez, Kurdistan Province, where his daughter is buried.
"If such restrictions are not imposed this year, the anniversary ceremony will take place on September 15, in response to the many requests we have received from the honorable and dear people," he added.
Last year, Amini was briefly detained on his daughter's death anniversary and the whole family were barred from leaving home.
The 22-year-old died on September 16, 2022. However, because the leap year is marked on different dates on the Iranian and Gregorian calendars, the anniversary this year falls on September 15.
Amini was arrested in Tehran on September 13, 2022, while visiting the Iranian capital with her family. She was detained by Iran's "morality police" for allegedly improperly wearing her hijab, or head scarf. Within hours of her detention, she was hospitalized in a coma and died on September 16.
The protests that followed lasted for months, spreading from city to city and drawing men and women into the streets. The Norway-based Iran Human Rights estimates more than 500 protesters were killed as the authorities cracked down on the unrest.
At least 10 men have been executed in relation to the protests for alleged involvement in attacks on security forces during the demonstrations.
Ahead of the anniversary of Amini's death last year, the authorities stepped up pressure against family members of those killed, including through arrests, summons for questioning, and warnings against them holding memorial events in honor of Amini or their loved ones.
- By RFE/RL
HRW: Iran Death In Custody A Chance For New President To Challenge 'Gross Impunity'
International rights group Human Rights Watch (HRW) says reports of a detainee death in custody are a chance for Iran's recently inaugurated President Masud Pezeshkian to demonstrate a commitment to holding security forces to account for alleged abuses. In an e-mailed statement, HRW noted Pezeshkian's instructions to Iran's interior minister to establish an investigation into Mohammad Mirmusavi's death in late August after he was picked up in connection with a street brawl in Lahijan and allegedly tortured. "Mirmusavi's reported death under torture poses a critical choice for President Pezeshkian of whether to continue to allow gross impunity for security forces or to actually credibly investigate and hold any perpetrators accountable," HRW said. Pezeshkian won the election in July after running as a reformer and was sworn in on July 30 to replace hard-liner Ebrahim Raisi, who died along with Iran's foreign minister in a helicopter crash near the border with Azerbaijan in May.
- By Kian Sharifi and
- Diako Alavi
Rising Number Of Iranian Women Sentenced To Death Amid Surge In Executions
What do an Iranian aid worker, a labor activist, a political campaigner, and a protester have in common?
All four are women who have been charged in Iran with armed rebellion against the state -- which carries the death sentence -- in recent months.
Two of them -- aid worker Pakhshan Azizi and labor activist Sharifeh Mohammadi -- have already been sentenced to death. Political activist Varisheh Moradi and protester Nasim Gholami Simiyari are awaiting their sentences.
Besides Simiyari, all the women have been accused of being members of opposition Kurdish groups outside Iran. Azizi and Moradi are both members of Iran's Kurdish minority, which has long been suppressed.
There has been a rise in the number of women sentenced to death and executed since unprecedented antiestablishment protests erupted in 2022 following the death in custody of Mahsa Amini, an Iranian-Kurdish woman.
Fear Of Execution
Mohammadi, the labor activist, was sentenced to death in July. She was accused of membership in an independent labor union and a banned Kurdish separatist group based in neighboring Iraq's semi-autonomous Kurdish region.
Her family has said she was not affiliated with any political organization inside or outside the country.
Mohammadi's cousin, Vida Mohammadi, told RFE/RL's Radio Farda that she was tortured in prison following her arrest in December and that she had spent several months in solitary confinement.
Moradi, the Kurdish political activist, was arrested in August 2023.
She was accused of being a member of the Free Life Party of Kurdistan (PJAK), the Iranian offshoot of Turkey's Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) and a U.S.-designated terrorist group.
Azizi, the aid worker, was also arrested in August 2023 and accused of membership in PJAK, which she has denied. She was sentenced to death in July.
She spent time in Iraqi Kurdistan as well as in northeastern Syria, home to the Arab country's Kurdish minority, to help people displaced by the civil war and the fight against the Islamic State extremist group.
In a letter written from prison before her conviction, Azizi said working in refugee camps in Syria "could have been one of the biggest moral contributions to a society that has been oppressed for years."
She also denied membership in opposition groups, adding, "So whoever spends time [in Syria's Kurdish-majority region] is a member of PKK?"
Simiyari, the protester, was accused of taking part in the antiestablishment protests in 2022. She was arrested in May 2023. She has said she was tortured in prison and held in solitary confinement for prolonged periods.
'Silencing Dissent'
Human rights groups have condemned what they have called trumped-up charges against the four women.
Iranian activists say the charge of armed rebellion against the state is often used by the authorities against political prisoners and dissidents.
"Faced with a women's movement in Iran that refuses to back down, Islamic Republic authorities are now trying to threaten these women with the gallows, in a desperate attempt to silence dissent," said Hadi Ghaemi, executive director of the New York-based Center for Human Rights in Iran (CHRI).
Rights groups have repeatedly accused Iran of using the death penalty to instill fear in society in the wake of the 2022 protests.
Saeid Dehghan, a prominent Iranian human rights lawyer, said the four women have been charged with armed rebellion even though "they did not possess any weapons, and no weapons have been seized or recorded in their case."
"The activities of these citizens were civil in nature and had no connection to a rebellion against the 'foundation of the Islamic republic,' let alone being armed to justify the charge of rebellion," he said.
Activists fear the four women could be the next victims of Iran's surge in executions.
At least 345 people have been executed so far this year, according to the Norway-based Iran Human Rights group.
CHRI said the fact that two of the women are Kurds reflected the "Islamic republic's continued disproportionate use of the death penalty against the country's minorities."
Iran's Kurdistan region was the scene of some of the most violent crackdowns during the 2022 protests.
In recent years, Tehran has upped the ante in its efforts to go after exiled opposition Iranian-Kurdish groups that it considers to be terrorist organizations.
- By RFE/RL
Iran Summons Veteran Rights Lawyer To Prison For Signing Letter Against Political Executions
Iranian authorities have issued a summons for the reimprisonment of 76-year-old human rights lawyer Mohammad Seifzadeh despite his ailing health, the Center for Human Rights in Iran (CHRI) said on August 14. Seifzadeh was summoned to Tehran's notorious Evin prison in mid-August on charges of "propaganda against the state" and "publishing falsehoods" for signing a joint letter by 45 Iranian activists calling on United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres to speak out against political executions in Iran, CHRI said, adding that this was a "politically motivated attack."
Five Iranian Women's Rights Activists Sentenced To 20 Years In Prison
Five Iranian women's rights activists were sentenced cumulatively to more than 20 years in prison, sources told RFE/RL. Nina Golestani, Anahita Hejazi, Anahita Dostdar, Rosita Rajaei, and Nagin Adalatkhah were arrested in the northern city of Rasht in November alongside other women activists. They were sentenced to three years and six months each for "assembly and collusion" and seven months and 16 days each for "propaganda against the regime." Rasht witnessed widespread protests during the "Women, Life, Freedom" demonstrations following the death in police custody of Mahsa Amini in September 2022, who was arrested for allegedly wearing her head scarf improperly. To read the original story by RFE/RL's Radio Farda, click here.